Measures such as social distancing, school closings and quarantine are anything but new when it comes to containing a pandemic. Because centuries ago people tried to fight epidemics in this way. Historians have now used the example of the University of Vienna to examine how this actually happened and what role the scholars of the universities played.
In the past centuries there have been repeated outbreaks in Central Europe of epidemics called “plague” or “pestilence”. At that time, everything that was contagious and spread among the population was summarized under this collective term. But because one did not know what caused such epidemics, one often looked for apparently obvious explanations. Some saw God’s punishment in them and tried to obtain forgiveness through repentance, processions or self-flagellation. Others blamed minorities and marginalized groups, which is why there were often Jewish programs in the wake of epidemics. Scholars, on the other hand, viewed unfavorable astronomical constellations or disease-causing putrefaction as the causes of epidemics.
“Social Distancing” and closed universities and schools
But what has been done about the “pestilence”? As a look at historical documents from the University of Vienna, in city announcements and newspapers shows, the countermeasures have hardly changed over the centuries. In the Middle Ages, for example, attempts were made to prevent infection by isolating the sick and reducing social contacts in the population. Facilities where many people came together, such as inns, bathhouses or schools, were often blocked. Teaching at the University of Vienna had to be suspended as early as 1359 because of the plague in the city. Many university members fled the city at the time, as historical records reveal.
Until the 18th century, the regular epidemics even temporarily closed the University of Vienna every 15 to 20 years. The rector usually ordered the duration of such an epidemic ban for two to three months – often with the reservation that the closure should be extended if necessary. During these times, faculty meetings were partly held outside of Vienna, and no new students enrolled. For example, it was noted in the register of the Rhineland nation for the plague year 1521 that nobody had enrolled. Student life in the so-called Bursen, a type of study group in the form of a shared flat, was also affected. In the year 1421, for example, a document recorded that the students had to be fed outside the Burse if there was a risk of infection.
And there is also a parallel to the current pandemic: not only cultural events were canceled in the case of past epidemics, scientific conferences also fell victim to “pestilence”. The assembly of German natural scientists and doctors planned for autumn 1831 had to be postponed by one year due to an epidemic.
University as “specialist advisor”
However, like the virologists and epidemiologists today, the universities and scientists also contributed to recommending suitable measures and researching the cause. In the event of a plague in 1539, the doctors at the University of Vienna speculated whether the current plague was due to contagion, bad steam or astronomical influences. Because they could not clearly determine the cause, they concluded that they could not recommend proven remedies. In order to minimize the contagion, however, they advised keeping the houses and streets clean and cleaning the air with incense and fire with fragrant woods.
In the 16th century, the first approaches to systematic epidemic statistics were found in the faculty files: daily mortality rates were determined and recorded. From around this time, several Viennese medical practitioners wrote writings on pestilence and its control, some of them in German. At the same time, the members of the medical faculty were now increasingly involved in the healthcare system of the city of Vienna and Lower Austria. The university doctors were obliged to treat the poor free of charge. At the state level, the Collegium sanitatis was the highest authority, made up of members of the court, the state, the city of Vienna, the church and the university.
Magister sanitatis – a dangerous post
Due to the constantly recurring epidemics, an own epidemic doctor, the Magister sanitatis, was established in 1541. From 1552, the government was paid 200 guilders a year by the Lower Austrian government. However, despite this remuneration, this position was rather unpopular with the members of the medical faculty because of the arduous nature and the risk of infection – not without reason. Because the first paid incumbent Franz Vesalius died of the plague, as did many of his successors. For this reason, among other things, the professors usually designated the youngest faculty member to be a disease doctor, sometimes even a medical student, as the records reveal.
The University of Vienna experienced the last closure during the Spanish flu in 1918. In October 1918, cultural institutions and schools were closed for around two weeks because of the flu pandemic, but the University of Vienna initially maintained its teaching activities – unlike many other universities in Europe . It was only in December 1918 that the Academic Senate brought the lectures to an early end – not because of the flu, but because of the lack of coal at the time.
Source: University of Vienna